


Life with you (is as good as it gets)

by andiwould



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Children, Curtain Fic, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Reunions, Feel-good, Fluff, Good Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Kid Fic, Kissing, Love, M/M, Magic, Magic Revealed, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Nice Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Parenthood, Pets, Shapeshifting, Smooching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-10 16:30:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20531057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andiwould/pseuds/andiwould
Summary: Just a day in Merlin and Arthur’s life, their six year old daughter Fay, and their two magic shape-shifting cats. And a little bit of the whole ensemble, really.





	Life with you (is as good as it gets)

**Author's Note:**

> Notes from when I wrote this a million years back:  
So this idea started developing in my head a few sleepless nights ago and I just grabbed my phone and began typing everything down furiously. It has to be the fluffiest shit I’ve ever written, but I hope you can enjoy it anyways. I might even have plans for a sequel, because as it turns out writing a bunch of scenes of them as parents is far easier than coming up with a mind blowing elaborate plot, so it works better for me since I’m not great at those. 
> 
> Notes when publishing:  
So, I'm planning to publish some stories I finished back in the day but never got around to posting. Turns out, I did write a sequel soon after that, so I hope you like this :)
> 
> This isn’t betaed, sorry, so any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out, though.

Friday

“Merlin.”

Merlin nuzzles his cheek against the warm pillow, sighing contentedly.

“Merlin, get your lazy arse out of bed, you’re going to be late.” Arthur’s annoyingly loud and posh voice fills his senses, and Merlin smiles as he listens to the sounds Arthur makes as he moves around the room. 

“Mm-kay,” he answers distractedly and almost immediately feels Arthur’s hand in his hair, caressing and then pulling a little in teasing before his knuckles make their way down Merlin’s neck and the top knots of his spine, tracing down alongside the slight dip of his spine line down to his tailbone. He stifles a small groan when he feels Arthur’s lips on his nape, pressing a couple of lingering kisses there, so he slowly opens his eyes. 

Arthur smirks against his skin before whispering, “Not that I don’t enjoy the sight, but if Fay walks in you’re going to be the one explaining why you’re naked to to her.”

Memories of last night flash in Merlin’s sluggish mind and he sniggers, even if all they managed were a couple of mutual blowjobs −which is more than most nights− before he unwillingly heaves himself up to his knees. Arthur smacks his arse playfully and then disappears inside the en suite bathroom as Merlin rubs the sleep from his eyes and pads to the dresser to put some pants on. 

“Such a pity.” Arthur gives him a sad look from head to toe when he reappears and sees Merlin’s not naked anymore and then tugs the bedroom door open. “You ready, love?” he calls out as he steps out, fixing his tie. 

Fay barrels into his legs practically right away, already dressed in her school uniform, her blue eyes crinkling a little as she looks up at him and her grin so radiant and warm it puts a smile on Merlin’s own face.

She’s the perfect mix of the two of them, Arthur’s fine looks but with a touch of Merlin’s disheveled aspect, her hair as blonde as Arthur’s, more so, but as unruly and curly as Merlin’s, and same goes for her naturally tanned skin marked by sharp angles and spindly yet somewhat graceful limbs. 

“Morning, dad,” she says, waving at Merlin before she tugs at Arthur’s trousers leg and urges him, saying how she wants to get to school already because she has tons of stuff to learn. 

“You’ll come by the office later, right?” Arthur asks him while he fastens Fay’s jacket and arranges her skirt in place, then bustles away, picking up his wallet, mobile, and keys before he starts for the door. Fay trails after him, her small rucksack bouncing on her back with each stride. 

“Yeah,” Merlin answers a bit belatedly from his place in the doorway, distracted watching the picture they make. “See you later.”

Arthur tosses him a knee-bending smile while he holds the door open for Fay.

“Good luck catching all the bad guys, dad!” he hears Fay’s voice just before the door clicks shut behind them.

Alone now, Merlin smiles to no one, twirls around and heads for the shower. He has to make a quick trip to the store around the corner to buy all the things for Fay’s birthday party tomorrow before going to work. 

It’s a bit hard to believe it’s been almost six years.

It seems it was yesterday when Arthur and him were curled up on the sofa that one night discussing if they really really really wanted to take this step forward and have a baby. The following day they were a bundle of nerves as they visited a magic fertility clinic and got informed about how the process went and what it entailed, exactly. It seemed so unbelievable but comforting that they could have a child together without a third party getting involved or adopting because magic and science had decided to pair up for what had to be the first time in history and offer same-sex couples the opportunity to have biological children too, in an alternate way.

He remembers the following morning, their fumbling wanks and how awkward but exciting it felt to handle in their two semen samples at the clinic, the call a few weeks later confirming everything had gone well and how they were expecting a baby, and those monthly visits to the clinic to see their future baby growing up encapsulated in a magic bubble. He recalls how completely surreal it felt to stand there with Arthur and watch what they later found out was going to be their baby girl. The day she was finally ‘born’ and Merlin held her in his arms, so little and his, theirs. How they brought her home and neither Arthur not him had any idea what to do next, but how slowly, labouriously, they worked it out, together, up until today.

He really can’t believe all this time has gone by.

When it dawns on him that he’s unconsciously dawdling under the shower spray, Merlin tells himself to get a move on. He dresses up in a bit of a hurry before heading out to Percy’s shop to buy the stuff Fay wrote down on the list as a must. 

As he drops the objects in the basket he smiles to himself, but when he plants them on the counter, Percy gives him a silent but amused look and Merlin does chuckle then. “It’s Fay’s birthday tomorrow,” he explains with a vague gesture of his hand.

“Ah,” Percy answers with a small laugh whilst he scans every item and then helps Merlin put them inside a couple of bags. 

“You could come to the party if you’re free. It’s in our flat at 5PM tomorrow,” he tells Percy, placing a few notes on the counter. “I’m sure Arthur would like having you there.”

Percy gives him a quick nod and a sheepish smile. “Thanks, Merlin, I’ll drop by and bring a present with loads of glitter,” he says, eyes flickering to one of the bags.

Merlin laughs and waves him goodbye, and after a quick stop at home, he finally goes to work. 

/

Lance has to be the most passionate, kind and earnest person Merlin’s ever met, which is why Merlin feels truly lucky to have him as his boss. 

Admittedly, when Merlin started working at the Magic Division for the Camelot Police Force, he didn’t really support the idea of having a non-magical as the head of the department because, honestly, it seemed pretty incongruous and only a little bit magic phobic. But then he met Lance and within a week realised he didn’t give a shit about him not having a fiber of magic in his body, he was probably the most suited man for the job. He’s proved Merlin time and again how much he genuinely cares about people’s welfare in general, and the magic community’s in particular.

Mordred’s not at his desk yet, so Merlin brings the computer to life and begins working on the druids case on his own.

Had it been a few years ago Merlin would have already been out there in the field, but after Fay came along Merlin decided to accept a promotion to make more money and less hours in the field and less work hours overall. Same thing happened with Arthur, who went from being the son’s CEO to a simple consultant, entrusting his position to Morgana, who, according to Arthur, had always been more qualified for the job anyways.

A fleeting squeeze on his shoulder lets him know Mordred’s finally here, so Merlin looks up at him. “Hey. I know you just came in, but I’ve noted down the addresses of a couple of suspects. You up for a quick questioning?”

Mordred picks up his jacket from the back of the chair where he’s just draped it over and smiles. “Sure, let’s go.”

/

Merlin stretches out his hand and Fray quickly latches onto it while he waves teacher Gwen goodbye with the other. 

Merlin shoots Gwen a smile and they get going.

“Have you caught all the bad guys today, dad?” she asks, like she does every day as soon as he picks her up from school and they make the usual trek to Arthur’s work office. 

“All of them,” he answers, like usual, and promptly marvels at how beautiful and prideful her responding grin is. “How did your magic lesson go?”

When it became time to enroll her in school the past year, both he and Arthur came to the joint decision that it would be for the best to choose a mixed school. Fay was already showing some innate magic powers within her, and Merlin strongly believed it would be a wasted opportunity not to allow her to develop her skills, whatever they might turn out to be. At the same time, he didn’t only want to put her magic learning above everything else, let alone have her only socialising with magicals, so a mixed school seemed like the most sensible option.

Fay perks up right away. “Oh, I did a magic drawing for Aunt Morgana!”

Merlin raises his eyebrows, because she’s been doing a lot of those lately. “That’s very nice, love. What about me and Da, did you make one for us, too?”

Fay looks suddenly very interested in her uniform skirt and it takes her a moment to answer, “But I do tons for you and Da, there’s no more room on the fridge door.”

That makes him snigger, because she’s right.

Once they arrive at Arthur’s work building Fay sprints to one of the lifts and begins smashing the button to Arthur’s office floor until Merlin grabs her hands and traps her small body against the front of his legs, wishing she’d quieten for just a moment. 

Fay still bounces on the balls of her feet and then races off once the doors open, making heads swivel her way as she runs in the direction of what used to be Arthur’s but is now Morgana’s office. 

Merlin sends apologetic glances left and right, even though most people don’t seem to mind, and as soon as he’s made sure Fay’s made it safe and sound to Morgana’s office at the end of the hall and sees her sitting herself on Morgana’s lap, Merlin heads for Arthur’s office, knowing Morgana will bring her to them once Fay’s eagerness to see her has diminished.

Leon’s chatting to Arthur when Merlin slips inside his office, but he’s quick to excuse himself and leave them alone after giving Merlin an easy smile and a pat on the back. 

“Hey,” Merlin says once it’s only the two of them, walking over to Arthur and leaning back against the desk in front of him, crushing some paper folders and spreadsheets under his arse. Luckily for him, Arthur doesn’t seem to notice or mind.

“Hey there,” Arthur answers as he leans closer on his chair. “I just saw Fay run past. She looks pretty excited.”

Merlin huffs, resting his forearms on Arthur’s shoulders. “You have no idea. She couldn’t get here soon enough, and she’s spent all the way here talking my ear off about the party. And she also asked if Morgana could dine with us again tonight.”

Arthur lets his head fall on Merlin’s thigh with a groan. “Again? She was home last night.” Merlin slips his fingers in between those strands of blond hair he loves so much as Arthur lifts his head up. “What did you say? Tell me you said no.”

Merlin makes an embarrassed face. “Yeah? I said we didn’t have enough food to feed Morgana anymore.” Arthur bursts out laughing at that, throwing his head back and clutching at Merlin’s thighs with both hands. “What? I panicked!” he admits, because when Fay looks up at him with her huge blue eyes, Merlin has a very hard time saying no to her no matter what she asks. “Am I a bad person for lying to her? For just wanting the house for ourselves for one night?”

There’s this crooked, impish smile still dancing around Arthur’s lips once his laughter fades down. “Of course not, don’t be an idiot. That thing you want is called intimacy and we’ve been lacking it for the past six years.”

Merlin smiles. Arthur can be pretty reasonable and affectionate the times he’s not being a stubborn prat, and Merlin quite relishes those occasions because, well, they tend to be scarce. “I love Morgana, but−”

Arthur rolls his eyes. “Merlin,” he cuts him off in that voice of his, in that tone of fond exasperation only he can pull off. “Even I cannot stand spending two days in a row with my sister without wanting to crawl up the walls. You’re fine.” Arthur pierces him with an intent look before wheeling his chair even closer so he’s sitting between Merlin’s parted legs. “You can be such an idiot sometimes,” he adds, his hands wandering surely to Merlin’s arse as soon as his eyes roam downwards and pause on the sewn-on badge on Merlin’s police uniform jacket, and Merlin smiles, snorts through a smirk, at Arthur’s obvious change of demeanour −knowing all too well how much Arthur appreciates him clad in his police uniform− just as the office door is pulled open at his back.

Arthur moves his head to the side to peek around Merlin’s body before sending him an unsurprised look, “Speak of the devil.”

Merlin rolls his eyes, still perching on the desk even though he turns his body around slightly to watch Morgana and Fay striding into the room side by side. Arthur’s hands come up to rest on the small of his back now.

“Fay invited me over for dinner tonight, told me I should bring some extra food since I, apparently, eat too much,” Morgana says in greeting, sounding beyond amused but doing an extraordinary job of concealing it for Fay’s sake. Merlin and Arthur share a silent, significant look. “But I said another day because I have plans with Uncle Gwaine tonight.” 

She raises her eyebrows knowingly, and Merlin is reminded why he loves her so much. She’s incredibly perceptive and always knows when to be there for them and when to give them space.

Fay looks a little grumpy, sporting a perfect copy of Arthur’s pout as she does her ponytail anew and then glares at the three of them in turns, before a knock on the door catches their attention. 

Uther stands under the threshold, his usual stiff look in place, before he seems to notice Fay and his face lights up almost as much as hers.

“Grandpa!” Fay throws her hands up and Uther scoops her up into his arms and smiles like few times does, walking into Arthur’s office with a much lighter posture than his usual puffed out chest, squared shoulders and jutted up chin. 

Merlin feels Arthur’s hand tightening around his hip when Uther acknowledges him with a tight-lipped smile. 

He and Uther have always had a slightly complicated relationship. Uther’s never liked him, not when he and Arthur met, nor when they started dating and not when they got engaged, even if they never really married. Merlin can’t say Uther’s ever been mean or disparaging to him, but he's certainly always kept his distances, not endorsing Merlin’s magic nor his job. That is until Arthur and him considered the crazy, life-changing idea of having a baby, and although he did seem disapproving at the notion of his grandchild being born of magic at first, eventually, he came around, and Merlin can say Uther’s been softening more and more every year since. All in all, Merlin wouldn't say they have a close relationship as of right now, but it's definitely improved a great deal, and Merlin’s more than happy with that.

“You’re coming to my birthday party tomorrow, right, Grandpa?” Fay asks, hands clasped around Uther’s neck, half-toothless smile impossibly wide.

Uther gives a stiff nod, but his words sound full of warmth. “I wouldn’t miss it for the word, kiddo.”

Fray giggles in delight, burrowing her face in Uther’s shoulder and hugging his neck tightly, and Merlin’s heart melts a little at the sight. 

Arthur presses his own smile against Merlin’s arm, and even Morgana’s permanent smirk looks far sweeter than usual as she watches the exchange.

Who would have thought that all it would take to soften the Pendragons was a little girl in their lives.

/

The three of them make it home a while later after that. 

Arthur’s cooking dinner while Merlin crosses out all the items on the list they have already bought for Fay’s birthday party, when the doorbell rings.

Arthur taps his leg with his bare foot and asks as he stabs the meat on the pan, “Can you get that?”

“Yeah.” Merlin rises to his feet, walks out and opens the door to find their neighbour Alice at the other side, Kilgharrah in her arms.

“He wandered off to our house again, dear,” she says by way of greeting.

Merlin sends Kilgharrah a disapproving look. “I'm so sorry he keeps doing that. I hope he isn't bothering you or messing with your furniture.” 

“Not at all, all he does is keep us company for a while. Lifts Gaius’ spirits, too,” she confesses with a kind smile.

Merlin returns it before taking the damned cat in his arms, ignoring Kilgharrah’s hiss and caressing between his ears where Merlin knows he likes until he’s purring instead. Thing is, he and Gaius are old friends from another life, Kilgharrah explained once, so Merlin can't really reprimand him for paying Gaius a visit once in a while. It’s pitiful enough he’s trapped in the form of a cat when he was once, again according to him, a mighty dragon.

“Thank you, Alice,” he says, not wanting to keep her. “We'll see you and Gaius tomorrow at Fay’s birthday party?”

“Certainly, dear.” Alice offers one more smile before she slowly turns around and Merlin closes the door, bidding her goodnight.

As he strolls back towards the kitchen Merlin gives Kilgharrah another stern look, though, and Kilgharrah mewls out a weak protest right before he tells Merlin to let him down. 

He complies, dumping him unceremoniously on the floor and promptly watches as Kilgharrah scurries off in the direction of the window ledge to tackle Aithusa and give her the scare of her life. Aithusa lets out a wail and Kilgharrah vanishes into thin air, becoming a tiny bird, forcing Aithusa to chase after him with her claws up in the air.

Merlin just shakes his head at the two of them.

Arthur has the same blank face he always makes when he hears Merlin talking with the cats. He told Merlin one night many years ago after a few too many beers that he _wasn’t jealous at all because he can't understand a word of what the cats speak and how he doesn’t wish at all he could also talk to them sometimes_, so Merlin just smiles at him sweetly now and plonks back down on the chair in front of him.

Almost immediately a thud comes from Fay’s bedroom.

“Dad, I can't find Morgs!” she call out. Morgs meaning the dragon they got her for her first birthday and has been her teddy bear since that day onwards. Also the dragon she decided to name after Morgana once she was old enough to talk and which has to be her favourite stuffed toy and all-around toy. 

Arthur and him share an amused look. 

“Have you looked inside the bed?” Merlin proposes, wanting her to locate it herself without having to rely on his magic.

“Uh,” comes the muffled, drawn out response from her bedroom. “It's not there!”

“Behind the curtains?” Merlin tries again, because her magic tends to float her toys to the weirdest places sometimes. 

He notices the beginnings of a smirk blooming on Arthur's lips as he leans back against the counter and crosses his arms across his chest.

“No, not behind the curtains, either, dad!”

Merlin smiles. “In the toys trunk? Underneath the bed or inside the dresser?”

“Uh, uh, no,” Fay answers, followed by a few more thuds and what sounds like a little cry of frustration. 

Merlin ends up springing up out of his chair and making his way over before she turns her room upside down, only to stop short midway when he notices Aithusa sprawled on the threadbare rug by the coffee table, the dragon held in place under one of her front paws. Kilgharrah is back to his cat form, lying next to her on his back, paws in the air, twitching, and a bored expression on his face.

Merlin rolls his eyes. “Found it!”

Loud footsteps resonate down the hall before Fay halts beside him, glaring daggers at Aithusa and wrenching Morgs from beneath her paw. “Bad cat!” Again, she glowers at Aithusa for good measure with an accusatory pointing finger, who looks completely impassive as she licks her pink nose and stares up at them with innocent blue eyes. “Morgs is not your toy!”

Fay turns on her heels and dashes off to her room, probably with the intention to hide Morgs somewhere safe before she comes running back just as Merlin’s sat back down on the chair.

“Dads, I have something important to tell you,” she announces as she waltzes in the kitchen. Arthur turns around from the stove to stare at her and so does Merlin. “I’ve decided I want to be a ballerina.”

There’s silence for a beat, before Arthur speaks. “But− we just signed you up for footie.” 

Merlin can sense the small touch of disappointment in Arthur’s voice at the idea that his favourite sport might not be good enough for her to stick to playing it for longer than a few months, even if she’s been kicking the ball with Arthur since she learnt to walk.

Merlin feels the need to side with Arthur. “Yeah, love, don't you think maybe two activities at once may be too much? Ballet requires a lot of dedication.”

Fay scrambles to sit on the chair next to Merlin’s and plants both hands on the table, palms down, looking between them with a raised eyebrow. “Dads, I’m a girl, I can do two things and more at once, don’t underestimate me,” she says in a way that might have come across as petulant, if it hadn’t left both Merlin and Arthur staring at each other in stunned silence.

Arthur holds his hands up placatingly, but he cracks a half-concealed smirk. “No one’s saying you can’t, sweetie. We’ll−” Arthur seeks his gaze again, only seeming slightly hesitant. “−give it a thought. If that’s what you’d like to do it’s fine, we just want you to be sure.”

“We’ll think about it, okay?” Merlin tells her and she nods her head with a pleased smile. “Now go wash your hands, dinner's ready.”

"'kay," she answers excitedly and runs off to the bathroom.

“Did you know anything about this?” Arthur asks when they hear water running next door and a quiet hummed song.

Merlin shakes his head, pushing to his feet to begin setting up the table. “Not a clue. What do you want to do about it?”

“Same thing we always do?” Arthur proposes with a shrug. 

Meaning they will give it a couple of weeks at least to see if it’s just a temporal whim or if Fay can become a real pain about it, in which case they tend to take her seriously and consider it for real.

“Sounds like a plan,” he answers, flashing Arthur a smile.

/

After dinner they are sitting on the sofa, watching _How to Train Your Dragon_ for what has to be the hundredth time, with Arthur in the middle, Fay curled up around his left arm and Merlin at Arthur’s right, knees up and toes tucked underneath Arthur’s thighs for extra warmth.

Aithusa is also occasionally paying attention to the telly on and off, and when she gets bored and shoves her paws against Kilgharrah’s face and gets a few growls and tail slaps in response. 

Merlin’s mobile buzzes on the cushions and after a bit of feeling around he pulls it from underneath his arse. “Shit,” he says softly, too softly for Fay to hear and reprimand him for cursing. 

Arthur does, though, so he gives him a look. “What is it?”

Merlin sits up a little straighter. “Mordred’s found a lead on the druids case, this is good,” he says, skim reading Mordred's long message. Then he snorts through his smile at the last part, at the a magic pun. 

“Merlin, we’re having a family moment here,” Arthur grumbles, and although he sounds more exasperated than anything else, there's also a hint of jealousy seeping through his words that’s always present whenever Mordred’s involved.

The thing about Mordred is that, aside from being his coworker, he’s the only friend Merlin has who also possesses magic. Arthur’s usually characterised by a high self-esteem and a high tolerance for any sort of envious behavior, so he’s never jealous except for when it comes to Mordred. With him it seems Arthur can't quite manage to quell the feeling. Merlin didn't understand, not at first, not until one day Arthur said something in passing about how they share a bond due to their magic, how they understand each other in a way Arthur can never dream to experience. Merlin explained how that magic bond didn’t mean anything to him at all, but he knows that, even to this day, Mordred is probably the only person that can make Arthur feel insecure in such a way. 

So he shakes his head, mentally chiding himself, and stretches his hand to leave his phone on the table. 

“You're right, I'm sorry,” he apologises purposefully, shifting in the small space so he's not leaning against the handrest anymore. He sits forward instead, lightly licking his lips before placing a small kiss on Arthur's pouty lips. 

When he moves back, Arthur chases after him, though, nibbling on his bottom lip in a way that has Merlin biting back a gasp. He has to cup Arthur's face in his hands to ground himself a bit, but he keeps licking into his mouth languidly when Arthur parts his lips for more. 

They get a bit carried away, it seems, because the next thing Merlin knows Fay is tapping Arthur’s chest and mumbling a put-upon, “Dads, you’re doing it again.”

As they draw apart, Merlin presses his lips together to stifle a chuckle, and Arthur does a very poor job of schooling his features as he returns his gaze to the telly and goes back to playing with Fay’s hair, but Merlin can’t be bothered to feel contrite because there’s a blinding smile now on Arthur’s face and he looks happy, and that is all Merlin really ever wants. 

/

Merlin switches the telly off while they all stand up from the sofa.

“Night, love,” he says, placing a lingering kiss on top of Fay’s head and giving her Morgs because they all know she won’t fall asleep unless the little dragon is held tightly in her arms.

“Night, dad,” she mumbles, voice heavy with sleep because it’s past her bedtime. 

Arthur picks Fay up in his arms and carries her to her room, quietly whispering something to her as he goes. They came up with a pretty simple method to stop fighting over who should tuck her in bed at night without crowding her after she literally said _‘too many kisses, I can’t breathe’_ one night, so now they do one night each. 

Merlin tidies up the room a little in the meantime, telling both Aithusa and Kilgharrah to go to sleep as well. Kilgharrah fixes him with one baleful eye before pretending to fall back into slumber, and Aithusa ignores him completely the moment he sends her a warning look when he finds her crawls suspiciously close to the curtains. 

As soon as he hears Fay’s room gently clicking closed he makes his way to their bedroom, trailing after Arthur when he slips inside the bathroom. Arthur playfully shoves at his shoulder as they stand side by side brushing their teeth.

Once they reach the bed and push the bedcovers aside, Arthur says, “Can you believe our daughter?” And then he models his voice higher to add, “_I’m a girl, I can do two things at once._ When did she become so sassy?”

Merlin finds himself laughing as he kneels on his side of the bed. “I know, right? That’s definitely Morgana’s influence on her.” 

Arthur huffs and plonks down on the mattress on his back. “No doubt she’s spending way too much time with my sister, but−” he breaks off mid thought, and then turns to face Merlin when Merlin finally lies down by his side, his eyes a bit shiny and gentle. “I think that isn’t too bad.” And he sounds so oddly loving that Merlin smiles at him, because he knows well that Fay and Morgana are the two most important women of Arthur’s life.

Merlin lies on his stomach, pillowing his face on his bicep so he can look at Arthur. “Of course it isn’t, if Fay grew up to be anything like Morgana I'd feel a pretty accomplished dad, you know.”

Arthur mirrors his position, then nods with a faraway look on his face. His voice is laced with emotion, mellow and quiet as he speaks, “So would I. But that's the thing, though, she’s− growing up. Fast.”

Merlin doesn’t even have the heart to tease Arthur at that, knowing this unusual melancholy is spurred by Fay’s birthday tomorrow. So instead he reaches out to hold the back of Arthur's head in his palm and thumb at the soft flesh behind his ear. “That's kind of inevitable, you know, no matter how little we like it.”

Arthur makes a sound between a grunt and a groan and then gives him a suspiciously hopeful look. “Are you sure you can't slow down the process a little bit with your magic?” 

Merlin chuckles softly against his pillow. “It doesn't work like that. I wish it did, but I can't really play with time. If I could I'd definitely change some things.”

Arthur’s gaze becomes confused at that, almost wary, so Merlin feels compelled to roll his eyes and explain, “I’d go back in time and and find you sooner so that we could spend more time together, all of us.”

Arthur is quiet for a moment as he stares into his eyes, and even Merlin knows how mushy that sounds before Arthur snorts. “Shut up, Merlin, you just ruined the moment,” he whispers, but the warmth in his voice says otherwise. And then there’s his hand that settles low over Merlin's back, bringing him closer. “You idiot,” he adds, before burying his face in Merlin's hair and concealing a smile.

Saturday

Merlin wakes to the sound of incessant thumping and a terrible, high-pitched version of _happy birthday to me_ sang by Fay. A few meows follow in what Merlin assumes are the chorus and Merlin wonders with trepidation what Fay’s doing to the cats.

He muffles his laughter against his pillow and then rolls around to find Arthur already awake and looking at him through his blond fringe and soft sleepy blue eyes. 

“Were you watching me sleep?” he teases fondly, then pokes Arthur in the stomach. 

Arthur bats his hands away before catching them in between his own and pulling him close. Merlin peaks Arthur’s bare shoulder, holding his curious gaze. “What's up?” he whispers and Arthur shakes his head with a smile.

“Dads!” Fay shouts. “Wake up. I’m six! I’m six years old!” 

Both him and Arthur burst into hearty guffaws simultaneously before Merlin inches close enough to plaster himself atop Arthur and nip at the tip of his nose, then taste the smile on Arthur's lips. He gets so far as to caress his way down Arthur's body to give his arse a soft squeeze before Fay’s voice rings again, but nearer, and she throws the door open without a care in the world and pounces on them while they reluctantly but happily break apart to welcome her in their arms.

“Morning, love,” Merlin says, brushing her Arthurish-blond hair from her face and beaming down at her. “Here’s our birthday girl.”

“Birthday girl, really? How old are you again, four?” Arthur lifts her and settles her onto his lap just before he proceeds to shower her head with loud noisy kisses while tickling her.

“No, six!” She shrieks with laughter, hitting his chest without much strength.

Merlin leans back against the pillows to watch them, perhaps a little bit too adoringly, and enjoy the moment, until Fay reaches for him with her tiny hands, clasping his arm. “Dad!” she cries out for help between peals of laughter. 

Merlin pushes to his knees and jabs at Arthur’s ribs in revenge until Arthur splutters and doubles over, a roaring laughter bubbling out of him, too. Fay scrambles away and hugs Merlin’s chest tightly while still glancing in Arthur’s way with so much joy as he writhes with laughter that Merlin feels his magic sing inside him. 

Arthur glances at the two of them with a glint in his eye before he attempts to haul them both up and when he realises he can’t he tackles them down instead, making them three collapse in an tangled-limbed, laughing heap.

“What’s for breakfast?” Fay says once she has calmed down, breathing a bit raggedly as she digs her elbow in Merlin’s ribs and kicks Arthur on the shin while she attempts to stand up on the bed, hands on her waist. "I'm starving!"

“Whatever you want,” Merlin concedes and she beams and leaps out of bed, running off to the kitchen, a halo of tiny, sparkling golden lights hovering in the air in her wake, product of her excitement.

Arthur sends him a wide-eyed look and Merlin has absolutely no idea how her magic’s done that but he must look really fucking proud because Arthur rolls his eyes at him and shoots him a huge goofy smile. Then he bounces to his feet, walking toward the door. 

“You coming or what?” he turns around when he realises Merlin isn’t following him, raising his eyebrows and tossing him a smirk while he stretches out his hand for Merlin to grab it.

“Yeah,” Merlin says on autopilot, clasping Arthur’s hand tightly and going with him, now and for everything else he ever asks.

_The end._


End file.
